GA Tacoma Owners BS Thread

Sorry, very vague. I haven't asked around yet so was mostly hoping for people that have tried a shop and thought the rate charged was fair.

 

ORW was one of the better prices for my regear with price of the gears being a constant the labor rate had to be the difference in price. I did my own suspension install and it wasn't bad but took me a while by myself.

 

Good to know. I would be willing to attempt the install DIY but would probably wait until I can get a group of people to help (one man operation). Thank you for the help.

 

also you should do more research. i dont think that kit is a deal.

 

100%. Was a quick search for a kit that was similar to what I had spec'd. The price seemed a little high but I haven't done much research yet.

 

Talk to @memario1214 for lift purchase/advise. Best in the biz.

For what you’re looking at it’s super easy bolt in parts. Having the proper jack/stands and safe operations will be your biggest hurdle if you’ve never done any wrenching under a vehicle. Solo and your first time, plan for a full weekend job to have the truck tied up. With a buddy and a little planning you’re looking at 4-8hrs tops (depending on aptitude). An actual shop will likely quote you for a 6-8 hr job.

 

Thanks a bunch for the recommendation! I will reach out to him when I get a little closer to pulling the trigger. I'm not sure any of my buddies are really interested in wrenching, so finding someone to do it with could be a little bit of a challenge. I wonder if buying multiple nice(ish) jacks would offset most of the money saved DIY.

 

Where are you located? If enough interest in a mod day I can host again, once it cools down a bit. Hate wrenching in the heat, I’m super busy with work and life but if planned far enough in advance I don’t mind hosting a mod day and helping out. It’s been a minute since our last one anyways

 

I'm in Kennesaw, but am always up for a drive. The heat has been a pain this summer, haha. Most of my camping has been during the summer season (college student) so I'm slowly getting used to it. Really appreciate the help!

 

Well shit, that’s right down the street. I’m up in Woodstock. Understand that, you need spots near water to make it worth while. But yeah if we can figure dates in September I’d be down to host. I’m cheap, I ask for beer and/or cash for food that we end up getting throughout the day

 

Nimblewill Gap Road had the best dispersed camping this summer. Water next to every spot. I would 100% be up for paying for food. Little iffy on the beer, not sure if package stores will take my ID:

 

@marinemonkey

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/t-o-r-x-fabrication.673096/

 

Thank you! I will reach out once I get everything sorted out. I think I follow him on instagram if I'm not mistaken. He has a really cool build!

 

I got my wife's 4runner lift I've been procrastinating the install. If you haven't gotten it done by the time I decide to do hers I'd be happy to do a double install and walk you through it as I do mine. It's basically the same lift you listed but with coil springs in the rear instead of an AAL. Also, if you ever plan on putting any weight in the rear Id go with full springs. The AAL will sag.

 

I usually don't tow but I do carry around mulch, plywood, and a dirtbike every once in a while. Stock suspension hasn't been too bad for those levels of weight so I'm not sure whether I should or shouldn't go full springs. Will the ride be any stiffer? The stock sport suspension has been a little rough.

 

I have a camper shell. It took about a year for the single aal I used to sag with that weight. Now I have full OME springs with the extra leaf to make the heavy duties. Those with my shell sit pretty level with my front 5100's and 886 springs with the lo pro bumper and winch.

 

Gotcha, I don't have much extra weight as I don't have a camper. Also don't have a ton of offroad goodies (2wd). I'm mainly looking for a smoother ride off of the pavement and a little bit more ground clearance so that I don't have to worry about scraping my undercarriage on the way to campsites.

 

Since you're 2wd, have you thought about a spindle lift so you don't have to worry about alignment numbers without upper control arms?

 

Experience is a great instructor!

 

I'll give you the general TW consensus I found when I was doing my many many months of research before diving into lifting my truck. For the price you'll pay a shop to install a really crappy lift kit, or even decent components, you could put that money towards insane quality components to install yourself (with friends/members here during a mod day) for the same price and be so much happier for various reasons:
-the components are better/perform better
-the experience gained learning how to wrench on your truck yourself/watching others
-the friends you make along the way

Its insane what shops will charge to install some hockey pucks on your truck. 5100's are honestly a great starting point, and many wouldn't recommend anything less. Your budget will ultimately determine what you should and shouldn't be looking at. But most importantly, be overly honest with yourself. There's nothing wrong with overbuilding your truck and making it extremely capable, but it all comes at a cost. You usually can't modify something without need a different supporting mod. The list goes on, especially with suspension. If you're okay with stock truck performance in your everyday use case, its not always practical to go out and buy the most expensive setup just bc you can. Absolutely nothing wrong with 5100's. They're a great small bump up from stock, so while we all try to talk you into going all out, be realistic; 5100's/AAL probably suits what 95% of people around here do with their trucks. But also doesn't mean the other options aren't better, and if you can afford it, why not

Edit: didn't know you were 2WD; in that case, the same pretty much applies, but the being honest with yourself is even more important - your performance offroad is very limited (although you may be surprised how capable a 2wd truck can be), so there's only so much return on an expensive "off-road" capable suspension setup. Sounds like you've already described your usage (plywood,mulch,dirt bike). I think 5100's are a solid choice. AAL is probably just fine as well.